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Premier League Round-Up: A Changing of the Guard?

In bygone years, come
the North London derby, Tottenham Hotspur fans clung to moral victories, citing
the reputation of Pires and Co. for “simulation.” Nowadays, the tables have turned – and before
Saturday’s early kick-off, Wenger pointed to “English players” as the “masters”
of diving, a thinly veiled jab at Dele Alli and Harry Kane. As it was,
Tottenham dominated the majority of the play throughout their 1-0 victory and
despite Alexandre Lacazette’s late miss, should have won by four or five. In a
derby characterised by Spurs’ dominance and an unexpected lack of foul of play
from either side, Arsene couldn’t even point to the supposed dishonesty of Dele
and Kane afterwards.

Spurs’ near-failure to
kill the game off, along with Arsenal’s reluctance to capitalise, perhaps demonstrates
why neither side have been able to compete with Manchester City at the top of
the table this season, who buried Leicester City 5-1 in Saturday’s late
kick-off.

Juventus vs Tottenham is showing live at Topgolf on Tuesday 13th February at 19.45pmOstersunds vs Arsenal is showing live at
Topgolf on Thursday 15th February at 18.00pm

Such is the standard
Guardiola and his team have set this season, their heavy defeat of The Foxes
came as no surprise – although the game was not without a minor plot twist.
Riyad Mahrez, who at the end of the transfer window declared he would never
play for Leicester again after he was held hostage against his will/politely
asked to see out his £100,000 per week contract, perked up and decided he
wouldn’t mind taking part after all, in a transparent attempt to show City that
he doesn’t have the selfish attitude of a spoilt child picking the ball up and
taking it home after not getting his own way.

Manchester City vs FC Basel is also showing
live at Topgolf on Tuesday 13th Feburary at 19.45pm

Kasper Schmeichel
supported Mahrez’s right to protest during the week, a move seen by some
supporters as an attempt to trigger a big move of his own. Indeed, Schmeichel
did appear to try and replicate the playing style of City keeper Ederson, by
clipping a killer pass straight into the feet of… Sergio Aguero, who chipped
over the Dane for his fourth goal of the game. Perhaps Schmeichel should wait
for his move to an elite club to happen before he assists their strikers.

Not
the only Sergio who loves a nice chipSergio Aguero 6974 byis licensed by CC 3.0

Aguero’s four deadly
finishes against Leicester rocketed the Argentine back into the top three of
the goal-scoring charts. One ahead of him is Mo Salah, who found the net yet
against Southampton in the final game of the weekend, as the Liverpool away
fans belted out their seventeen favorite chants dedicated to the Egyptian.

Southampton fans
started the game booing former centre-back Virgil Van Dijk - and continued their
jeering throughout the entirety of the match when they realised half of
Liverpool’s squad used to play for them. For current Saints stars such as James
Ward-Prowse, it must have felt like walking into a nightclub with your
girlfriend, only for her to spend the night jealously berating her exes who
work behind the bar.

Porto vs Liverpool is showing live at Topgolf,
on Wednesday 14th February at 19.45pm

Liverpool’s 2-0 win helped
them gain three points on Manchester United, who were beaten one-nil at a
thunderously loud St James’ Park. It’s been said Newcastle United are really a
Championship side, and the Geordie support backed this up by celebrating every
clearance and tackle as they would a ninety-minute equaliser. The game
resembled a David vs Goliath cup tie more than it did a Premier League
clash. The roar that greeted Matt
Ritchie’s second-half winner must have been heard in Sunderland, along with the
collective groans of United’s world-wide support at centre-back Chris
Smalling’s dive that ultimately led to Ritchie’s goal.

Even Jose couldn’t
summon a good excuse for United’s loss after the game, merely citing the
“animal” spirit of Newcastle’s players as responsible for the result. If Arsene
Wenger can’t point the finger after a derby defeat and the Special One isn’t
interested in whipping up an anti-referee conspiracy following a shock loss, has
the fighting spirit of the old guard been blown away for good by Pep, Poch and
Klopp?

Thankfully, everyone
apart from Manchester City have proven reliably unreliable throughout the
course of the season; there are plenty of twists and turns left in the race for
the Champions League.

Author

James Dick

When James Dick isn't writing for Topgolf, you can find him agonising over Tottenham Hotspur's title prospects and listening to obscure hip-hop artists that nobody else cares about.